Hearing Impairment Resources

Hearing Impairment Resources

This section provides an overview of hearing impairment with downloads about the hearing process, causes of hearing impairment, hearing assessment, hearing aids and cochlear implants, hearing impairment resources, strategies and programs to facilitate speech, language, and communication. Click on the links below to open fact-sheets.

Hearing impairment
Hearing impairment affects many children and adults either temporarily (e.g. fluctuating hearing loss in children) or permanently. Hearing loss in childhood can severely delay speech and language development, and most adults will experience a deterioration in their hearing as they get older. This detailed document describes the process of hearing, what can go wrong, hearing assessment and getting hearing aids.

Hearing Assessment
To determine an individual’s level of hearing or investigate hearing loss, an assessment needs to take place. There are several types of hearing tests that focus on different aspects of the hearing mechanism.

Enhancing communication with hearing impaired people and wearers of hearing aids
Children with hearing impairment often have some degree of speech and/or language delay. There are a number of different approaches to facilitate speech and language in these cases, and these depend on several factors including the level of hearing impairment, whether the child has a cochlear implant and the wishes and/or commitment of the parents.